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Measure 74

Argument in Opposition

The Federal Government protects citizens from ineffective
substances sold as “medicines”. The FDA has not approved
marijuana as safe.

74 Establishes marijuana DISTRIBUTION CENTERS and PRODUCTION GROW SITES. The State cannot afford costs
for licensing and regulating these entities, which would
include police protection.

Deputy District Attorney Joseph Esposito notes “marijuana
distribution centers in LA went from 4 to over 800 within 5
years.” 74 does not limit number of CENTERS and GROW
SITES or address local government bans and limits.

It would take 9,095 DISTRIBUTION CENTERS and GROW
SITES to provide the allowable pot for 36,380 cardholders.

DISTRIBUTION CENTERS could be located near libraries,
churches, youth clubs, parks, and daycares.

GROW SITES can include marijuana grown in your neighbor’s
yard or house. Indoor growing presents dangers
because of toxic materials and high volumes of electricity
increasing the potential for fires.

CARDHOLDERS could obtain the maximum amount of marijuana
allowed by law from one distribution center and then
go to another and do the same, as well as grow at home.

DISTRIBUTION CENTERS shall be nonprofits subject to
Oregon laws, but need not have received 501c3 tax exempt
status from the IRS. Don’t all nonprofits require IRS approval?

According to Dr. Robert DuPont, President, Institute for Behavior
and Health and first Director of the National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA) the governments principal agency researching
marijuana, “more people need to see ‘medical marijuana’ for
what it is: a cynical fraud and a cruel hoax. It is not about medicine;
it is about the political exploitation of the public’s compassion
for suffering sick people. Legitimizing smoked marijuana as
a “medicine” is a serious threat to the safety of all Americans.”

Measure 74 is a confusing and poorly worded measure that will
make the illegal distribution and use of marijuana difficult to
enforce. The measure adds a whole new system of marijuana distribution
centers and production grow sites to the current medical
marijuana law without addressing rapidly growing abuse.

When “medical marijuana” was first proposed in 1998, voters
were told that only a couple thousand people would need
“medical marijuana.” The number of card holders is currently
36,380 with 5037 pending applications. Only a small fraction
of these “patients” suffer from cancer or glaucoma. The vast
majority claim “pain” as their reason for needing marijuana. A
single doctor is responsible for prescribing approximately 35%
of all medical marijuana cards, with ten doctors prescribing
59% of all cards.

Measure 74 states that initially dispensaries shall not be
established within 1,000 feet of any school or within residential
neighborhoods. This language suggests that eventually these
dispensaries could be located close to schools and in neighborhoods.
There is no other reasonable explanation for the
drafter’s use of the word “initially”.

Measure 74 would allow a person who is convicted of a felony
for manufacturing or delivery of illegal drugs to be licensed as
a producer, a director or employee of a dispensary. Only drug
felony convictions after the effective date of the Act would
prevent these individuals from receiving a license.

Your Sheriffs, Chiefs of Police, and District Attorneys thoroughly
researched Ballot Measure 74. We believe passage of
this measure will increase abuses of the medical marijuana
laws and will have a significant and negative impact on the
ability of law enforcement to keep our communities a safe
place to live, work and play.